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temple drake

kevin sellers

5/6/16

Kind of a mixed bag for me. I appreciated the pre code rawness of the scenes at Lee Goodwin's place. Really captured the tawdry violence of Faulkner's novel, "Sanctuary," upon which the film is based. And Faulkner was not always so fortunate in his Hollywood adaptations. "Intruder In The Dust" was well handled by Clarence Brown, but Martin Ritt cheerfully sanitized both "Sound And The Fury" and "The Hamlet" (retitling it "The Long Hot Summer") and Mark Rydell reduced "The Reivers" to a light hearted romp slash bore. However, the sexism and slut shaming that swirls around the title character are most off-putting. Clearly, the film makers are conveying the message that Temple is, to some extent, responsible for her rape since she openly embraces her "dark" (i.e. sexual) side by being physically attracted to the gangster, Trigger. This equation of non or pre marital sexuality with "fallen" status belongs, ironically, in Hays Office Hollywood rather than in a film that is made in a time when movies were defying this finger wagging moralism. And I really could have done without the ending where Temple faints after giving her harrowing account of her assault to a jury and it is left to the male characters to both carry her away and comment on her courage. So once again the "strong" men are protecting a "frail" woman and condescendingly commenting on her virtues rather than letting her voice predominate. Yuck. Also, under Steven Roberts' direction the usually fine Miriam Hopkins has never been so hammy while the actor who plays Trigger employs every cliche of the 30s gangster and then some. So, while I agree with El Debbo (something I find myself doing with increasing frequency these days) that the cinematography is great I would have to give this film a C plus.

Faulkner's southern gothic girl, Temple Drake

el debbo

8/17/14

I liked the photography very much, brooding black & white, trees dripping with Spanish moss, crumbling mansions; a world away from Now. Jack La Rue was good and Miriam Hopkins was steamy, but there wasn't enough development in their relationship. William Gargan, a fave of mine: I couldn't get past the lipstick. In short, this was OK but the 1962 version of Temple Drake's story "Sanctuary", which was a major hit in theaters that year, is much preferable in my book. Lee Remick plays a gin-soaked jazz baby to perfection, and Yves Montand is absolutely magnetic as Candy Man. 3 stars for the Hopkins version.

The Story of Temple Drake (1933)

Mr. Blandings

9/18/11

Nasty story depicting the dark, drawn-out punishment of a flirtatious girl. The author of the book obviously had "issues" and making a movie based on it is a sheer waste of acting talent.

"A PRE-CODE SMUT HOLOCAUST"

La Faustin

9/5/11

See David Cairns's SHADOWPLAY blog for a terrific appreciation of this film: http://dcairns.wordpress.com/2009/05/08/jack-la-rue-sexual-outlaw/

Temple Drake

Bob Cornfield

10/17/10

This is an important movie, not only for the censorship efforts, Miriam Hopkins, and its amazing photography, but also for the effort to film a William Faulkner's novel. It is in many ways sensational and cheap but more interesting for those very facts. It deserves its notoriety.

Unfortunately Unavailable...

Michael O'Hanlon

2/23/08

It's sad that even Turner Classic Movies is unable to play this excellent PreCode drama on their station. It's an early Paramount film, which means it is owned by Universal, which keeps it under lock and key. Let TCM play the movie already!

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